1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for modifying photographic images and drawings and more particularly to a system for distorting photographic images and drawings to simulate a painting effect.
2. Discussion of the Background
Today, more and more households have personal computers equipped with scanners. Scanners provide a mechanism for obtaining digital representations of pictures, photographs and documents. Presently, the typical computer user utilizes scanners to "scan in" documents in order to save time from manually typing in the content of the scanned document or for digitally storing the contents of the scanned document. It is also common for computer users to "scan in" photographs or pictures to be integrated into computer presentations or to be used as screensavers and the like.
Creating special effects of input drawings and photographs using a computer equipped with a scanner is a growing trend. Many, if not all, of the special effects are created by software driven processing after a picture or photograph has been scanned. Thus, the effects are not a function of the content scanned by the scanner. The conventional technique for modifying processed images using a personal computer includes scanning a processed image and subsequently modifying the scanned data using "painting" software to create a painting like representation of the processed image on the computer's graphics system. This type of system generally does not give a satisfactory effect to users and its expense is a function of the required software.
Another method for creating special effects related to photographs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,259 to Hylen. The Hylen patent discloses an attachment for a camera for altering the light of an image prior to the image being recorded on film by a camera in order to create a painting-like photograph. A transparent plate is mounted at the film plane within the camera to create the effect. The transparent plate includes a translucent diffusion pattern which diffuses incoming light rays reflected from the subject and repositions them in a manner prior to the light exposing the film.
Notwithstanding the attachment disclosed in the Hylen patent for creating a photograph with the painting-like effect. There exists a need to create this type of effect for preexisting pictures and photographs using a computer and a scanner wherein the input picture or photograph is in its normal non-effected state.